It proved an exciting chase they had commenced. The thief knew he need expect no mercy if caught, and rode desperately¹. He knew the country better than Edgar and Will, which gave him a decided² advantage; moreover, he had a good horse, probably stolen, and knew how to ride.  
‘He is gaining on us,’ said Edgar. ‘I am afraid we shall lose him. There is no chance of hitting either man or horse from this distance.’
 
Mile after mile was traversed, and still the chase went on. The riderless horse stuck close to his companion, but when he began to flag the man took hold of the bridle³ and urged him on. Edgar took no heed⁴ where they were going, nor did Will. They were too excited to take much notice of the country they passed through. At last the fugitive⁵ turned his horse to the left, and plunged⁶ into a much more difficult country to travel. The undergrowth became denser⁷ and tangled⁸, and it was with difficulty the horses could be forced to go through it. It was not long before they lost sight of the man they were in pursuit of.
 
‘Where can he have got to?’ said Will. ‘He would never hide here with two of us after him.’
 
‘We must ride on,’ replied Edgar. ‘It is easy to miss a man and come across his track again in a very short time.’
 
They rode on at a slow pace, and presently came to a narrow opening in the scrub. Here they halted and found recent tracks of horses, so they determined⁹ to follow in this direction. The tracks led them in a roundabout way, and presently they came to the conclusion the man had doubled back.
 
‘He must be heading for our camp again,’ said Edgar. ‘Strange he should do this unless he fancies[197] we are put off the scent¹⁰, and he is riding back to rescue his mate.’
 
‘If that is his game,’ said Will, ‘we must follow him hard. He might shoot Yacka before we arrive.’
 
It was, however, difficult for them to find their way. They were not experienced bushmen, and had failed to notice certain signs by which they would know they were on the right track. They saw no signs of the man, nor could they now observe in which direction the horses had gone. To ride on and trust to chance was their only hope. It was quite light now, and this aided them. As time passed they became anxious, and wondered what would become of Yacka if they did not arrive on the scene in time, for they had not the least doubt now that their man was heading for the camp to rescue his mate.
 
‘This chase he has led us has been a blind,’ said Edgar. ‘If we had taken ordinary precautions we ought to have found out he was doubling back.’
 
‘Only a bushman would have found that out,’ said Will. ‘I do not see how we can blame ourselves.’
 
‘We have had enough experience the last few months to have found that out,’ said Edgar. ‘By Jove! there he is, I believe.’
 
There was a horseman in front of them, but they could not see the second horse. They rode on faster now, but did not gain much ground. A rise in the land hid the man from view, and soon after he disappeared they heard a shot. This made them ride[198] all the faster, and they quickly reached the top of the rise, and had a good view of the plain beyond.
 
‘He fired that shot to warn his mate,’ said Will. ‘We cannot be far from the camp now.’
 
‘I’ll fire,’ said Edgar; ‘and if Yacka hears the two shots he will probably divine we are in pursuit.’
 
He fired a shot from his revolver as they rode on.
 
‘There’s the place we camped at,’ said Edgar, pointing to two or three tall trees: ‘but I see nothing of Yacka or the other men.’
 
They rode up to the place, and found the camp deserted¹¹. There was blood upon the ground and signs of a struggle, but they imagined this must have been caused by Yacka dragging the wounded man along. Edgar called out ‘Yacka!’ and gave a loud ‘cooee,’ and after waiting a few moments they heard a faint response. They rode in the direction of the sound, and, rounding a clump¹² of trees on a mound¹³, came upon a strange sight.
 
Stretched on the ground was one of the robbers, the man they supposed they had left with Yacka. This man had been strangled, and was dead. Near him sat Yacka with a strange expression on his face. When the black saw them he gave a faint moan, and pressed his hand to his side.
 
‘Good God! he’s shot!’ said Edgar, dismounting and running to the black. He found blood streaming from a deep wound in his side evidently inflicted¹⁴ with a knife. ‘How did this happen?’ asked Edgar,[199] as he endeavoured to stanch¹⁵ the flow of blood with a neckerchief he had rapidly pulled off.
 
Yacka pointed¹⁶ to the dead man, and Will, who had come up, exclaimed:
 
‘This is not the fellow we left with Yacka. It is the man we have been chasing all this time.’
 
‘Where is the other man?’ asked Edgar, who could hardly believe his eyes.
 
‘I killed him,’ said Yacka faintly.
 
‘Where is he?’ asked Will.
 
Yacka pointed to some bushes, and Will went across and found the body of the man they had left with Yacka. This man had also been strangled.
 
They managed to stop the flow of blood from the deep wound in Yacka’s side, but it was some hours before he had sufficiently¹⁷ recovered strength to relate what had happened.
 
When Yacka heard the shot fired, he at once thought the man’s mate had doubled back to rescue him, and had given Edgar and Will the slip. He knew how easily it could be done by an old hand, and his surmise¹⁸ was confirmed by the expression on the man’s face when he heard the shot. In a moment Yacka had made up his mind how to act. He had no gun, for he found that all three had been taken, instead of only those belonging to Edgar and Will. He seized his prisoner by the throat, and strangled him. Then he propped¹⁹ the dead man up with his back to a tree, and tied him to it with one of the tethering ropes. He hid himself behind the tree and waited, and in a short time the other robber came on to the ............